SuperCoach rookie review: Who to trade, who to hold after Round 7

It’s that time of year when we should try to make two trades every week, trading one cheapie out at a profit and turning another into a star. Which rookies are ready to go? Plus Champion Data’s market watch.

Tom Atkins of Geelong. Picture: Stephen Harman

It has come to that point of the year where we should be looking to paint our fences.

This DIY work simply means we should try to do two trades each week — one up, one down, downgrading plump cash cows to rookies on the bubble, while upgrading another to a premium player.

RAGE TRADES: WHAT TO DO WITH ROCKLIFF, LIBBA

THE PHANTOM: ARE KEY FORWARDS BACK?

The technique ensures we are gradually improving our teams each week while continuing to generate cash for future trades.

In order for us to do this effectively, we must recognise when our cash cows are ready to be sent to the abattoir.

So which rookies should we make our moves on this week? Here are the candidates to trade and hold ahead of Round 8:

TIME TO TRADE

Zak Butters (Port) $253,300 MID. Avg: 57. Break even: 72

Butters has well and truly hit the rookie wall. His break even (the score he needs to maintain his value) is more than double what he scored last week.

Jordan Clark (Geel) $239,500 DEF. Avg 56.3. Break even: 55

Returned to the Cats side after being managed, but failed to hit his low break even. With his new break even surpassing his average, look to move him on if you can – especially if he is dropped this week.

Sam Collins (GC) $300,500 DEF. Avg: 62.4. Break even: 63

Those who held onto the Suns defender lost $11.1k in value. Is capable of scoring 80-plus totals, but we haven’t seen that in his past three games.

Geelong youngster Jordan Clark. Picture: Stephen Harman

Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters looks ready for a rest.

Michael Gibbons (Carl) $266,200 MID. Avg: 53.1. Break even: 50

Perhaps a bit stiff to be here, but his ton is out of his rolling average. Besides that total he has failed to score over 60 points.

Jack Petruccelle (WC) $274,500 FWD. Avg: 56.6. Break even: 59.

Like Gibbons, his ton is out of his three-round average which determines his SuperCoach price. Could have a big one against the Saints, but we said the same for his match-up with the Suns and he failed to deliver. A $150k profit is a good result, time to cash in.

HOLD

Reilly O’Brien (Adel) $340,700 RUCK. Avg: 94. Break even: -11

Don’t even think about trading this bloke out. Scoring like a premium and boasts a negative break even so has a lot more money to make.

Sam Walsh (Carl) $452,600 MID. Avg: 95.1. Break even: 97

Has the potential to hit the ton, and shown he is a reliable SuperCoach scorer – sometimes even more than our actual premiums. You’ve got bigger problems to deal with before trading this young gun.

Marty Hore (Melb) $316,200 DEF. Avg: 82.8. Break even: 11

Came home with a wet sail on Saturday to post his fourth score of 85 or more since returning to the Dees side. Should serve us well until the byes.

Marty Hore has been a great find for Melbourne’s defence.

Jack Scrimshaw (Haw) $314,500 DEF. Avg: 70.3. Break even: 59

If you still have the former Sun, you held on to him for a reason. Is capable of posting high scores and is a solid bet on field.

Willem Drew (Port) $322,400 FWD/MID. Avg: 75.1. Break even: 58

Drew has a capacity to reach solid scores without getting a heap of footy – a valuable commodity as a rookie. Still one of the few forward cheapies you can trust to put on field.

Callum Wilkie (StK) $317,000 DEF. Avg: 68.1. Break even: 50

Scored 60 or more in his past five games and his break even is 50. Also capable of a big score, like his 112 in Round 4.

Connor Rozee (Port) $358,200 DEF/MID. Avg: 79.3. Break even: 41

His 102 points in Round 6 is still in his rolling average. Hold.

Charlie Constable (Geel) $303,000 MID. Avg: 81.4. Break even: 39

Racked up a lazy 25 touches and 11 tackles in the VFL on Sunday. Should be back in the senior side within the next fortnight, so if you held him last week, you should keep him in your side.

Xavier Duursma (Port) $316,000 DEF/MID. Avg: 71.4. Break even: 33

Duursma has displayed tremendous consistency for a rookie, with a low score of 66. Will continue to make you cash and, like Drew, is one you can him put on field with confidence.

Tom Atkins (Geel) $259,800 MID. Avg: 58.6. break even: 18

An out-of-the-box 87 points against the Bombers should see Atkins rise beyond $300k in time. Plenty of money to make, but loophole rather than field if you can.

Tom Atkins played his best game of the season against Essendon. Picture: Stephen Harman

Matt Parker (StK) $249,000 FWD. Avg: 62.9. Break even: 12

Two solid scores in the past fortnight will keep his break even low barring a stinker. Hold for now, but field with caution.

Noah Balta (Rich) $164,800 FWD. Avg: 33.7. Break even: 7

The enigmatic tall forward surprised his owners with a score of 59 against the Bulldogs – more than double his average to that point. Will get over 50 per cent gametime with Jack Riewoldt out of the side and might even creep over $200k.

Like a Balta lightning! ⚡️#AFLDogsTigers pic.twitter.com/ZCVqVihDei

— AFL (@AFL) May 4, 2019

Bailey Scott (NM) $172,800 MID. Avg: 54. Break even: 12

Still owned by more than 40 per cent of teams despite being out of the side for the past fortnight. Very useful as an emergency loophole and downgrading him won’t give you much cash.

Chris Burgess (GC) $172,100 FWD. Avg: 37.8. Break even: 45

Same story as Scott. Scoring in defence has been particularly volatile, so the chance to double dip is handy.

ROUND 7 STARS

154 Andrew Gaff

154 George Hewett

146 Marcus Bontempelli

145 Luke Ryan

140 Zac Williams

WEEKLY TOP SCORES

2352 CPRs, Trey

2348 Wooden Spooners, Jarrod

2346 Azzas legends, Aaron

2336 First Coach Sacked. Scott

2333 Willy, Will

* The two highest-ranked teams and fourth-ranked team are ineligible for weekly prizes due to multiple entries

OVERALL LEADERS

15,988 Froff, Alex

15,969 Truck Yeah, Tim

15,923 Ryder2Gray, Adam

15,922 The Package, Theo

15,905 Satan’s Minions, Ryan

Andrew Gaff was back to his absolute best against Gold Coast.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ANDREW GAFF

Gaff scored an equal round-high of 154 SuperCoach points against Gold Coast Suns, of which 95 were scored in the first half. He found plenty of the ball, amassing 35 disposals, 26 uncontested possessions, six tackles, five inside-50s and two score assists from 83 per cent game time.

CHAMPION DATA MARKET WATCH

Zac Williams

Williams shone in the Giants’ win over St Kilda with an equal season-high 30 disposals on his way to 140 SuperCoach points – also enjoying a rise of $42,400. He had 19 uncontested possessions, 12 rebound-50s, nine intercept possessions and eight score involvements from 79 per cent game time.

Patrick Dangerfield

Dangerfield had an absolute stinker against the Bombers, posting his second-lowest SuperCoach score on record (26) – prompting a price drop of $43,100 in the process. Hampered by an early injury, he could only manage eight disposals, one contested possession, one tackle and one behind from 80 per cent game time.

Caleb Daniel

Daniel is enjoying a breakout season, racking up 113 SuperCoach points in the Bulldogs’ win over Richmond. He collected a season-high 36 disposals to go with 390 metres gained, 23 uncontested possessions, five intercept possessions, six score involvements and two tackles from 89 per cent game time.

YOUNG GUN: GRYAN MIERS

Miers’ price spiked by a further $38,100 after scoring a season-high 92 SuperCoach points against the Bombers. He had 25 disposals, 323 metres gained, 19 uncontested possessions and two inside-50s from 93 per cent game time. He also hit the scoreboard with one goal, one score assist and was involved in seven scoring chains.